Time-indicating device



' W. A. LYONS.

TIME INDICATING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED m: c.4, 1920.

PatentedSept. 13,1921.

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1 the several indicia may be easily and UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TIME-INDICATING DEVICE.

Specification of LcttersPatent.

Patented Sept. 13, 1921.

Application filed December 4, 1920. Serial No. 428,266.

T c all whom it may concern Be it known that I, VVILLIAM A. LYoNs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Litchfield, in the county ofMeeker and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Time-Indicating Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to time indicating devices for use in railroad stations, hotels and public places generally.

An object of the invention is to provide a device, which will indicate, by means of a clock dial and clock hands with which nearly all persons are familiar, the time of arrival or departure and direction of travel of trains, or any other scheduled incidents, such as periods of study at high schools, or military programs at camps and the like.

Another object of the invention, is to pro vide a device of the class described, wherein uickly changed, and which will be of simp cheap construction, so as to render it profitable as an article of manufacture.

To this end, the invention consists in the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter described and claimed. r

. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front view of the invention, showing the upper left hand indicating unit complete.

Fig. 2 is a semi-diagrammatic sectional View online 22 of Fig. 1, showing the relative positions of the parts of contiguous units.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on line 3--3 of Fig. 1, drawn to an enlarged scale.

Fig. 4: is a sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 3, and

ig. 5 is a front view of one of the revoluble indicia carrying disks,

In the drawings, A designates a rectangular shallow cabinet equipped with a hinged door 1 having a suitable glass panel 2, to render the contents thereof clearly visible and protect it against dust.

The invention comprises a vertically disposed rectangular plate 3, adapted to fit snugly into the cabinet and held positioned therein as by means of the screws 4. The plate is perforated with a plurality of circular openlngs 5, shown arranged in horizontal rows one above the other, Above each of preferably of wood, 7

the openings and concentric therewith and spaced therefrom, is the arched or segmental aperture 6. Secured to the face of the plate, one above each of said apertures, is preferably a card holder 7, adapted to loosely hold a sign card 8, having thereon, when used for indicating train schedules, the name of a particular railroad, as C. M. & St. P.

Secured to the back of the plate, one over each of said openings is the clock dial 9, and centrally on the clock dial is mounted an outstanding sleeve 10, having a flange 11 parallel w1th the plane of the dial, said sleeve having screw threaded connection with the latter.

F rictionally fitting around said sleeve so as to be rotatable thereon, and frictionally held positioned at any circumferential po sition to which it may be moved, is the eye 12 carrying the laterally extending hour hand 13, the eye being formed with a flange similar to the. flange 11 of the sleeve 10.

Fr'iotionally surrounding the flanged eye 12, in like manner is the eye 141, carrying the minute hand 15. Between the flange 11 and the flange of the eye 12, is the friction Washer 16, the latter being made of fibrous material such as leather.

Thus, the hands may be independently moved by hand to indicate jointly, any particular hour or fraction thereof.

Extending through the sleeve110 is the spindle B, the latter consisting of a bearing portion 17, rotatably fitting the bore of the sleeve, and a reduced bearingportion 18, journaled in the horizontally disposed support 19, said support extending centrally across the openings 5 to the rear of the plate 3, and being spaced therefrom and secured at its ends thereto, by means of the screws 20. Between said bearing portions, the spindle is formed with a screw thread 20, having nuts 21 threaded thereon, said nuts gripping the placard or indicator disk 22 between them, said disk having a central opening 23, to loosely receive the spindle. The indicator disk overlaps the aperture 6, so that indicia to inform the public, arranged in a circle such as P. M. East, on the face of the disk, may be clearly visible through said aperture. I

To render the device compact and neat in appearance, it is desirable to have the dials as closely adjacent each other as is possible. To accomplish this, the disks 22 are disposed in overlapping relation, as

shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the nuts 21 serving as adjustment means on the threads of the spindle, whereby the planes of each alternate disk may be brought into alinement. To hold the disk frictionally positioned, a spring washer 24:, pressing against the support 19 is provided, the washer being secured as by means of the screw 25, threaded into the rear end of the spindle. At; its forward end the spindle is formed with a finger-piece 26, enlarged at its base to form a shoulder 27, which latter is held against the flange 11 by the stress of the spring washer 2 1.

Each of the clock dials, together with its disk and hands and operating mechanism for actuating the disk end hands, may be termed one unit of a plurality of units, mounted in overlapping relation, in horizontal rows on a supporting plate.

In use, the disks and the hands may be turned independently of each other. j To change the disks, it is only necessary to remove the screws 20 and 25, when the rearmost nut .21, maybe removed and the disk Withdrawn.

By placing the direction indicating words in a circle on the disks, and the A. M. and P. M. signs alternately between them, I secure means which may be readily set for indicating the directions in which trains are traveling, and whether in the forenoon or afternoon. V

The clock hands may be individually moved to any desired position, the leather washer pressing the inner edges of the respective eyes 12 and 1 1 of the two hands against the dial. The hands will thus be frictionally held positioned as will also the disk by means of the spring washer 2 1.

I claim:

'1. A device of the class described, comprising a plate, a plurality of spaced indicating devices indicating the time of day and other information arranged in horizon- A tal rows on said plate, each device comprising, a clock dial to indicate the time of day secured to said plate in a manner to be visible from in front of said plate, a segmental aperture cut through said plate above said clock dial, a spindle journaled in the center of said clock dial and positioned perpendicular to the face of the latter and extending beyond the rear and front sides thereof, a finger piece on the spindle in front of said dial whereby the spindle may be turned, clock hands frictionally held rotatable on the spindle between said finger piece and the face of the dial, and a disk for indicating additional information, mounted on said spindle to the rear of said dial, said disk extending over said aperture and overlapping the disk of the next adjacent indicating device.

2. A device of the class described, comprising, a plate, a plurality of spaced indicat ing devices, arranged in rows on said plate, said devices overlapping each other, each device comprising a clock dial secured over an aperture in said plate so as to be visible from in front of said plate, a spindle revoluble by hand from in front of said dial, said spindle journaled in the center of said dial and disposed perpendicular to the face thereof and extending through and beyond the rear side of the dial, clock hands held frictionally revoluble on the spindle in front of said dial, an aperture in said plate above said dial, a disk positioned concentric with said spindle to the rear of said dial and extending over said aperture, and adjustable holding means engaging said spindle and disk whereby the disk may be held positioned at any arbitrarily selected position longitudinally of said spindle.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature.

WILLIAM A. LYONS 

